Simple Tasks and a Sense of Accomplishment

Never underestimate the positivity simple tasks can create. When it comes to goals and the things we are working to do for our lives, they tend to be large. These are not necessarily just the uber-achievement, huge-money-making large. These are also the not-instantaneous, multiple steps required large. Like building a business, evolving a relationship, or writing and selling a novel. When you’re pressing towards such a goal, it’s easy to get caught up in the work that goes into it.

Fitting in and Being Liked

Fitting in and being liked are not all that important when all is said and done. Throughout my teen years and well into my thirties, I really wanted to fit in. Not necessarily in the grand scheme of society – but within the structures that I spent time in. Before high school, I spent my formative years as an outsider. I was the odd, fat, short Jewish kid from the single-parent home in our very Lutheran Midwest suburban neighborhood. In

Focus on What You Can Control

Be mindful when you focus on matters outside of your control. We live in a mad, mad, mad world. Here in the United States, we’ve reached this bizarre place where a lot of people believe in a demonstrably false reality. Despite all evidence and logic to the contrary – they buy into any number of lies told to them by politicians, business leaders, religious leaders, and so on. If, like me, you question things, strive to learn, grow, and evolve

Choosing the So-Called “Easy Path” is not Easy

The “easy path” is what leads many people to depression, anxiety, and the like. What is the easy path? The easy path is the conventional path. It’s doing the expected and shoehorning yourself into a “normal” life. To be fair, there are people for whom this is fine. A normal, conventional life makes them content, happy, and fulfilled. I have nothing but respect for that – and if you are in that boat, more power to you. Unfortunately, I think

Reclaim Positivity

Positivity is always available. Sometimes you just need to reclaim it. For the first time in a long time, my depression has been dominating my experience. Over the past four or five days, I have been feeling more down than up, more negative than positive. I can think of several reasons why I am feeling this way: The sky has been grey for three straight days The temperature has been anywhere from 10-20 degrees cooler than normal for this time

Getting Myself Consciously and Subconsciously Aligned

I know my goals – short and long term – now I just need to get aligned. When I was 9 years old, I wrote my first work of fiction. It was 50 pages and illustrated – and I got a tremendous sense of accomplishment from creating it. Over the years, I continued to write in fits and starts. While I knew my passion was writing, I bought into a whole lot of the notorious lies about it. Most writers

Positivity Doesn’t Invalidate Negativity

One coin, two sides. Positivity and negativity will always both exist. I know a lot of people who think that positivity is a toxic notion. And, misapplied, they’re right. When you use positivity to negate and invalidate negativity – that is a toxic act. We simply cannot exist in a world with zero negativity. Life is all about dualities and paradoxes. Hence, yin and yang, black and white, up and down, and so on. Between these extremes are vast worlds

Focusing Within Gives You More Control Than Focusing Without

I need to put less into focusing on the things outside of my control. We live in a crazy world. After a year that featured massive, necessary social change due to a pandemic, an awful election and ongoing ugliness after it, and massive uncertainty – there is a light at the end of the tunnel. But that light isn’t the same for everyone. For some people it’s daylight – for others, it’s an oncoming train. This is largely dependent on

Choose Your Actions After Your Initial Reactions

The positivity when you choose the actions after your reactions is profound. Let’s face it. Shit happens. What’s more, you’ll encounter happenings that get you upset on the surface without full context. And then you get to decide what comes next. For example, I saw that a friend had done a thing with a group of friends that I was not included in. That got me super upset. I immediately felt hurt, got annoyed that I was left out, and

Replacing Self-Help with Self-Encouragement

Most people could use self-encouragement over self-help. Let’s face it – the idea of self-help has been hacked to pieces for many people. It’s like being in a sudden deluge of rain. You were soaked to the bone after a few seconds – but it continues to inundate you. A lot of people get frustrated with all the notions of self-help. In time, it goes from the simple idea that you are capable of working on your inner being and

1 … 35 36 37 38 39 … 146